Financials, tech and industrials helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a seventh straight winning session Friday.
Despite dipping briefly to the negative, the benchmark S&P 500 also finished in the green, capping a two-week runup.
But the tech-heavy Nasdaq bucked the trend and fell for the day, helped lower by a disastrous showing by Symantec Corp (NASDA:SYMC), which lost a third of its value. The anti-virus maker disclosed an internal accounting probe that spooked investors.
Small-caps continue to do well, with an up day on the Russell 2000.
And Canadian stocks finished the heading north.
After making steady gains earlier this week, crude oil fell 1.1% to close at US$70.58 per barrel Friday.
Drugmakers and health care stocks, in general, stayed positive, despite a late-afternoon pledge by President Trump to curtail rising drug costs for Americans.
Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) released a statement saying the president “rightly recognizes” that drug companies charge too much.
1:15 PM: US stocks pare earlier gains but still on track for strong finish this week
US equities pulled back from a strong start Friday as the S&P 500 dipped into the red and Nasdaq turned negative at midday. The Dow industrials, meanwhile, remained in positive territory but trended toward break-even. The Toronto Stock Exchange also held steady.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey in May was in line with April’s revised results, but better than a forecasted downtick.
And Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is reportedly creating its own cryptocurrency. This follows news earlier this week that the social network is building its own blockchain team.
10:24 AM: Dow industrials shoots for seventh straight day of gains as Symantec sinks the Nasdaq
US equities kept the positive momentum going Friday morning, with the Dow industrials vying for a seventh straight day of gains.
The benchmark S&P 500 tracked higher as well, led by a 5.5% bump in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN).
But the tech-laden Nasdaq lagged its counterparts early on, weighed down by a 33% decline in Symantec Corp (NASDA:SYMC). The anti-virus software maker issued a disappointing full-year outlook, but, more importantly, disclosed an internal accounting investigation.
Small-cap stocks were also looking to finish the week on a high note, with the Russell 2000 making steady gains led by adtech company Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) on stellar first-quarter earnings.
In Toronto, Canadian shares were also moving higher, rising steadily all week.
7:50 AM: US stocks poised to add to Thursday's strong gains
US stocks are poised to add to Thursday's gains and extend a week-plus winning streak for Wall Street, albeit at a more modest pace.
After soaring 197 points to close at 24,740, the industrials were, according to spread-betting quotes, likely to open at around 24,772, up 32 points.
The S&P 500, which jumped 25 points to 2,723, was expected to open at around 2,726, up 3 points.
“US equity markets are on course for a perfect week – five consecutive daily gains – which when you consider the drop off in sentiment and markets since the end of January is actually quite encouraging," said Craig Erlam at Oanda.
“If the Dow can find a way above 25,000 in the process, it could signal a shift in sentiment in equity markets, which have looked extremely vulnerable to another sharp decline. Of course, this may depend on whether the gains have been primarily built on the rally in energy stocks in response to the withdrawal of the US from the Iran nuclear deal, or an actual belief that the market sell-off has run its course. It’s interesting though that a very good earnings season has so far not been enough to trigger such a move, which makes me question whether the recent move has legs,” he added.
Want some good news?
S&P 500 is positive YTD and it is May.
You have to go back to '90 last time that happened and the full year didn't sport a total return that was positive.
In fact, since '70, the full year has been green 35 out of 36 years that saw the SPX up YTD in May.
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) May 10, 2018
The big three European markets have been disinclined to follow US markets higher this morning.
In London, the FTSE 100 was off 5 points at 7,696; in Frankfurt, the DAX was down 34 at 12,989 and in Paris, the CAC 40 was 16 points lower at 5,530.
Overnight, most Asian markets finished the session further; the Shanghai Composite was a notable exception, slipping 11 points to 3,163.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stormed 261 points higher to 22,758 while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index was up 313 at 31,122.
On the foreign exchange markets, the greenback was on the back foot. The dollar index, which measures the currency's value against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was down 0.13 at 86.13.
On the futures market, gold edged up slightly to US$1,325.60 an ounce and WTI crude was little changed, up $0.06 to US$71.42 a barrel.